Australia to Germany the long way

[boomy]

Can you update the first page with out of pocket cost for taxes after using your points please and total $$$ cost?

110k USDM plus ~$200AU taxes.
120k QFFP plus ~$700AU taxes (JASA).

 

[boomy]

*A F lounge CDG
It's small and quiet lounge, much better then the busy J lounge downstairs. Comfortable seating, no special food or alcohol but anyway there is no point in eating and drinking too much before a 5 course meal in the air. Because this lounge can be accessed only by pax who fly F it will not get too crowded so it's a good place to spend some time in before the flight, especially when the alternative is hanging around the dreadful terminal 1.

 

[boomy]

CDG-BKK TG F
The boarding was in chaos, no lines no nothing. People were just standing in front of the gate waiting and when the announcement was made for F, J, *G to board the pushing started as pax tried to reach the gate. I was a bit shocked to see that, never understood why some people are in such a rush that they feel the need to push others to get on the plane first. The irony is most of these people are also in a rush to get off the plane when it lands!

 

[boomy]

The A380, my favourite TG F cabin.

My seat for the next 11 hours.


Every TG F experience starts with Dom

 

[boomy]

Some plane spotting while leaving CDG.
TAM Brazil

Qatar

El Al Israel

Aeroflot Russia, the Concorde and the Hilton hotel I just came from all in one frame.

Terminal 1, ugly from outside as from inside.

 

[boomy]

The menu

Some canapés

Caviar matches with Russian vodka.

First course

 

[boomy]

I pre-ordered the Lobster for main, as I usually do. It sometimes comes cooked well but sometimes it's a bit dry. This time it was perfect! The best I ever had on a plane. I was very happy I ordered it again for my morning flight

Matched with a glass of French Chardonnay.

Cheese selection with a glass of port.

Raspberry vanilla tart for dessert.

 

[boomy]

Every First Class toilet should have a changing area like this one.

Different pyjama this time from the usual brown colour I got all last year.

Rimowa kits are back after a short absence.

 

[boomy]

The guy sitting in 1E was busy typing on his laptop for the entire flight, I think he didn't sleep at all. From the angle of my seat in 2A I could see his is writing a very detailed flight TR but not about our flight. His TR looked very professional and judging by the food and cabin photos I think it was about one of the Chinese airlines J cabin.

 

[boomy]

I found the bed on the A380 much more comfortable then the one on the B747, maybe it's the better quality mattress and cover. I had a very good sleep and woke up refreshed just in time for breakfast. I wasn't hungry so only had fruit salad, yogurt and coffee.

When we arrived to BKK at 6am I knew I only had 90 minutes until the next flight starts boarding and really wanted to have the 1 hour complementary massage this time. On my way to ICN a couple of weeks earlier I missed out on the complementary 30 min massage J pax get because the connection from HKG was too short. This time I knew I can do it but need a bit of luck. On the buggy with me were the guy who sat in 1E and his friend who sat in 1A. They were also connecting but I didn't know where to. If they both ask to go to the spa before me then I have no chance. When we arrived to the F lounge I found out they are connecting to PEK at 10am, lucky! I asked to go directly to the spa and there was one spot available, success!

While lying on the bed I was thinking how wonderful it is to get 1 hour oil massage on a short connection between 2 First Class flights. Flying doesn't get much better then this!
After I took a shower I went back to the F lounge and was prepared to be told to rush to the gate but instead I was told the flight is delayed by 20 minutes and was offered a private room to relax while waiting. How can I refuse to that...
TG F lounge sitting area

The private room

 

[JohnM]

Matched with a glass of French Chardonnay.

White Burgundy puh-leeze! . Great TR .

 

[ETA_2022]

110k USDM plus ~$200AU taxes.
120k QFFP plus ~$700AU taxes (JASA).

Hi boomy,

I'm really enjoying reading your TR. As someone with no international travel experience, I would like to do something similar myself, but have no idea what the 'other' costs are. Also I would need to buy some points for the *A flights. (At the moment USDM's come with a bonus up to 50% extra offer, so I could buy 105,000 for just over US$2K, but US has switched to OW after merging with AA). So the questions:

• Did you pay for all your flights with points?
• Other than domestic, why did you have a few J class seats (other than the Qantas downgrade) and what's J+?
• Did you buy single/return fares with each airline or a RTW or similar?
• Were any of your flight costs discounted or on special?
• Roughly how much did everything else (accommodation, other transport, food and tourist attractions) cost? (A breakdown of costs isn't required)
• How much of what you did/got (hotel upgrades, lounges, etc) depended on your FF status, as I'm only a NB?
• Did your seat tickets (J, F) get you any access to/upgrades at hotels or lounges?
• How much of your choice of airlines was because you could use QFFP's or USDM's to pay?
• Could/would you do this trip with OW airlines only?
• Did you earn status points for all your flights and if not why?

And (everyone's option welcome), is it a good idea to buy USDM's and do so now, to get the bonus, even though they're equivalent to QFFP's now? (Does 1 USDM = 1 QFFP when spending them with QF or CX?)

Also what's the cheapest & easiest way to buy/obtain points for *A without paying for flights or getting a credit card? Does anyone sell these points with a bonus/discount like US used to? And does 1 SQP = 1TGP when spending them with TG)

Thanks boomy (and anyone else), in advance, for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

[Alanslegal]

And (everyone's option welcome), is it a good idea to buy USDM's and do so now, to get the bonus, even though they're equivalent to QFFP's now? (Does 1 USDM = 1 QFFP when spending them with QF or CX?)

Also what's the cheapest & easiest way to buy/obtain points for *A without paying for flights or getting a credit card? Does anyone sell these points with a bonus/discount like US used to? And does 1 SQP = 1TGP when spending them with TG)

Thanks boomy (and anyone else), in advance, for taking the time to answer my questions.

I'd be spending some time at the USDM threads, link below. However the basic idea is you buy frequent flyer miles (when on promotion usually) and then redeem them for flights. One must be pretty flexible with routes and timing. You never plan your holiday first and then hope to get seats. You must plan your holiday around the seats you can book. Every program is different in what you can earn/buy and the rates of redeeming again is different, but as a guide, in todays pricing, its close to $3,500 return in business and $4,000 in first class for Australia-Europe round trip. Redeeming premium flights generally give you no hotel benefits / upgrades etc.

US Airways Dividend Miles

 

[Alanslegal]

Nice report boomy ..... makes me want to travel more&more. So sad I have nothing on the horizon until March

 

[boomy]

Hi boomy,

I'm really enjoying reading your TR. As someone with no international travel experience, I would like to do something similar myself, but have no idea what the 'other' costs are. Also I would need to buy some points for the *A flights. (At the moment USDM's come with a bonus up to 50% extra offer, so I could buy 105,000 for just over US$2K, but US has switched to OW after merging with AA). So the questions:

• Did you pay for all your flights with points?
• Other than domestic, why did you have a few J class seats (other than the Qantas downgrade) and what's J+?
• Did you buy single/return fares with each airline or a RTW or similar?
• Were any of your flight costs discounted or on special?
• Roughly how much did everything else (accommodation, other transport, food and tourist attractions) cost? (A breakdown of costs isn't required)
• How much of what you did/got (hotel upgrades, lounges, etc) depended on your FF status, as I'm only a NB?
• Did your seat tickets (J, F) get you any access to/upgrades at hotels or lounges?
• How much of your choice of airlines was because you could use QFFP's or USDM's to pay?
• Could/would you do this trip with OW airlines only?
• Did you earn status points for all your flights and if not why?

And (everyone's option welcome), is it a good idea to buy USDM's and do so now, to get the bonus, even though they're equivalent to QFFP's now? (Does 1 USDM = 1 QFFP when spending them with QF or CX?)

Also what's the cheapest & easiest way to buy/obtain points for *A without paying for flights or getting a credit card? Does anyone sell these points with a bonus/discount like US used to? And does 1 SQP = 1TGP when spending them with TG)

Thanks boomy (and anyone else), in advance, for taking the time to answer my questions.

Hi ETA_2015
I'm glad you are enjoying my TR
To answer some of your questions:
* Did you pay for all your flights with points?
All the *A flights were booked with USDM and the QF flights with QFFP. I used money only to pay the taxes.
* Other than domestic, why did you have a few J class seats (other than the Qantas downgrade) and what's J+?
F is not available on some intra-Asia routes and on all intra-Europe routes (exclude London-Moscow) so the next best option on those routes is J.
J+ is a term I invented it means flying J while sitting in the F cabin like the QF A380 flight you saw in my TR. It's very rare to get a plane with F seating that doesn't sell F tickets and even if you are lucky to get one of those it will probably be an old F cabin, nothing remotely as nice as the A380 F (but still better then any J seat).
* Did you buy single/return fares with each airline or a RTW or similar?
I booked return ticket S.E. Asia to Europe with US which allows up to 4 legs each way and a separate return ticket SYD-HKG with QF.
* Were any of your flight costs discounted or on special?
I didn't pay for any flights, all points redemption.
* How much of what you did/got (hotel upgrades, lounges, etc) depended on your FF status, as I'm only a NB?
Upgrades and lounge access at hotels depend on your status at that specific hotel chain, not your FF status. Lounge access at airports can depend on the class you fly as well as your FF status. For example, some F lounges only permit access if you fly F (regardless of FF status) while other will permit access to anyone who holds high FF status (even when flying Y).
* Did your seat tickets (J, F) get you any access to/upgrades at hotels or lounges?
I never got any special benefits at hotels because I was fling J/F.
* How much of your choice of airlines was because you could use QFFP's or USDM's to pay?
I wanted to fly as much F as possible using USDM. Both TG and OZ are relatively generous with F award seats (when booking in advance). The only option flying F from AUS to HKG using QFFP was QF (which was later downgraded to J+ ).
* Could/would you do this trip with OW airlines only?
USDM redemptions became harder after the switch to OW. The US agents are much more strict with enforcing the MPM rules. Having said that, there are still plenty of great redemptions available with OW, I suggest you check out the USDM threads to get some routing ideas.
* Did you earn status points for all your flights and if not why?
No points are earned on USDM redemptions. I did earn points and SCs with QF because my ticket was booked as JASA but this option is not available anymore. AFAIK no airline offers points or SCs earn on award bookings ATM.
* What's the cheapest & easiest way to buy/obtain points for *A without paying for flights or getting a credit card?
You should check out United and Avianca FF programmes. Both offer good promotions every now and then where you can buy miles and redeem on *A flights. Just be aware there are significant differences between the all the FF programmes so I recommend to do some research and decide which one is more suitable to your needs before buying any points.
Once you get to familiar with the T&Cs of the various programmes and learn how to use them in your favour then you will be able to make the most out of your points.

 

[boomy]

BKK-HKG TG F
Boarding was finally announced and someone came to escort me from the F lounge back to the same plane I disembarked of just two hours earlier. This time my seat was on the other side in 2K. No slippers or amenity kit for this short 2hr flight but Dom is always offered

Breakfast menu

Nothing on the menu looked very appealing so I was glad I pre-ordered the lobster again.

Yep, lobster and champagne at 8am... because anything goes on a holiday
Finished my weird breakfast with some fruits.

It was a short and uneventful flight, we landed in HKG on time and the buggies were waiting for F pax.

I guess they didn't know who is leaving and who is transferring, that's why they took us for a long ride all the way to the transfer area near passport control.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

The guy sitting in 1E was busy typing on his laptop for the entire flight, I think he didn't sleep at all. From the angle of my seat in 2A I could see his is writing a very detailed flight TR but not about our flight. His TR looked very professional and judging by the food and cabin photos I think it was about one of the Chinese airlines J cabin.

I think your trip report is very professional Boomy

 

[boomy]

I think your trip report is very professional Boomy

Aaaaah
Thank you!

 

[amaroo]

I think your trip report is very professional Boomy

Agreed - top shelf!

 

[QF WP]

boomy, I have to agree with UpInTheAir and amaroo - the best TR's make one feel they are sitting in the next seat and experience everything with you. I've felt that so far, so looking forward to the blockbuster ending.